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The likes of Timothy Peters, Darrell Wallace Jr. prove they can hang with the dirt dogs
Related: Results | Points standings | Photo gallery | Complete coverage
ROSSBURG, Ohio — The last time Timothy Peters raced on dirt, the year was 1994 and he was wheeling a go-kart during nationals at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach. The last time Darrell Wallace Jr. raced on dirt was — well, never.
And yet there they were Wednesday night, outshining even some dirt specialists in a Camping World Truck Series event on the hard-packed clay of Eldora Speedway, and showing that even a few asphalt experts were capable of holding their own in NASCAR’s first national-series race on dirt in more than four decades.
Despite their combination of inexperience on the surface, Peters finished sixth and Wallace seventh in a race dominated at the front by drivers raised on dirt. While Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman and eventual winner Austin Dillon dueled for the victory at the end, Peters and Wallace held down top-10 spots that allowed them to improve their positions in the standings — the bigger picture all of the Truck Series regulars kept in the back of their minds.
“I’m proud of it,” said Peters, who had won the most recent truck event two weekends ago at Iowa. “But as a racer, you show me somebody who’s happy with finishing sixth, and it’s time to trade in the driving shoes.”
Even so, the outcome was markedly different from what many expected — which was for Ty Dillon, like his older brother raised in dirt late models, to have a big night and close the gap on series leader Matt Crafton, who has competed mostly on asphalt in his career. But Dillon suffered damage in an accident that started when dirt late model driver Jared Landers bounced off the wall, and wound up 16th in the 30-truck starting field.
Meanwhile, some other dirt specialists — most notably Scott Bloomquist, a six-time winner of The Dream late model race at Eldora, who fell a lap down early fighting a loose truck — were never really a factor. That opened the door for Truck Series regulars like Peters, Wallace, Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, and Crafton, the latter of whom raced down in the bottom lane whenever he could, and managed an eighth-place finish that increased his series lead from 38 to 48 points over Jeb Burton.
Mission accomplished? “Yes,” Crafton said. “I think we definitely could have run a little better than what we did, but we couldn’t take the chance. There at the end, we just had to play defense instead of playing offense, and try to pick off more spots and be aggressive and make something happen. We just had to play defense there at the end, because we knew all the points guys were behind us, and we needed to keep them behind us, and just do what we had to do right there.”
Crafton, though, raced on dirt as a youngster, and still competes occasionally in a dirt-modified car. Coulter, who finished fourth, often runs a dirt late model, and won in that discipline as recently as last year. Gaughan, who came home fifth, has an extensive off-road background. By contrast, Peters and Wallace were veritable babes in the woods, making their results all the more impressive.
“There for a little bit we were seventh, and the top four were all dirt guys, so really, we were third. And that was just outstanding,” Wallace said. “That all goes back to my guys and (crew chief) Jerry (Baxter) for giving me a great setup that allowed me to just be smooth on the wheel and on the throttle to keep us up front and in the game.”
Both drivers adapted relatively quickly, despite some first tentative steps in the opening two practices Tuesday evening. Wallace was the first driver out for final practice Wednesday morning, and set a fast lap that held up as the best of the session. Peters — who spent some time Tuesday on a viewing stand, watching dirt ace Larson do his thing — ran away to a victory in his qualifying heat race. He also stuck the nose of his truck into the mix early in the main event, passing pole winner Ken Schrader and leading 23 laps in the first of the race’s three segments.
“I’m disappointed with sixth, but I’m happy with sixth because I don’t have any dirt experience at all,” Peters said. “All these guys you see right here at Red Horse Racing really worked hard. … It’s a great feeling to come into an unknown. But it’s like I said coming in, this race team excels at challenges, and this was going to be a challenge for us. We came out on top, I feel like.”
And in the final results, moved up two positions in the standings to sixth, 73 points behind Crafton. Wallace, a Kyle Busch Motorsports driver battling Burton and Ryan Blaney for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, improved one spot to ninth. The secret to Wallace’s quick adjustment to an alien surface?
“It’s just taking it easy. Not forcing the issue on much,” he said. “With the two breaks we had, you kind of give and take there at the beginning, and then go for it at the end. Just have fun, that was the biggest thing. We’ve had an up and down season, and I told the guys from here on out, we’re just having fun. And that’s what we did tonight. I had loads of fun. With 10 laps to go, I was pumped. It’s an honor to be here at Eldora. First time on dirt for me, and it’s a blast.”
Although it wasn’t without a few white-knuckle moments, particularly at the end when Larson and Newman were hammering away at one another for second place, throwing sparks off the wall and sliding in unison through every turn. For Wallace it was all part of the learning process, one which unexpectedly resulted in his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
“I’ll be honest, that’s the most nerve-wracked I’ve ever been, watching trucks (sideways) coming off the corner, slapping the wall, not knowing where they’re going to go, and just knowing we’re going to be in it wadded up on the hook,” he said. “That’s just part of dirt racing. You watch these dirt racers here, like the (Landers) — he seemed out of control, but that’s just how dirt races are, and you have to get over that and learn from that. That was just the biggest thing. But it was action-packed from lap 1 to lap 150. It was fun.”
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Former Indy 500 winner Hornish relishes opportunity to maintain consistency at IMS
Seven years ago Sam Hornish Jr. accomplished a feat that many young boys and girls grow up dreaming about — winning the Indianapolis 500.
Two years later, he achieved another milestone that many young race car drivers aspire to obtain — racing in one of NASCAR’s three national series. It’s one thing to make it to one of NASCAR’s national series, but to make it there and be competitive reaches a whole different level.
And, Hornish is doing just that.
When Hornish and his fellow NASCAR Nationwide Series competitors hit the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Saturday in the Indiana 250 (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) he will be grasping a seven-point advantage over runner-up Regan Smith in the standings.
"It feels good," Hornish replied when asked how it felt to be back on top of the series. "As I’ve said all along, we have fast Ford Mustangs and a strong team. We’ve had a lot of strong performances and a couple of off days. This championship is very tight, and it is going to come down to consistency."
So far this season, Hornish has racked up 14 top-10s in the first 18 races and led the points for the first seven races before handing the lead over to Smith. After Sunday’s second-place finish at Chicagoland, he resumed his perch atop the standings.
Hornish’s hold on the lead remains tenuous, though, since the top 10 drivers in the standings are only separated by a scant 69 points. But with an Indy 500 win and a runner-up performance in last year’s inaugural NASCAR Nationwide race at Indy on his resume, he will be more than prepared to defend his lead.
Plus, winning at Indy holds more of a personal connection to Hornish.
"My mom went to the Indy 500 when she was pregnant with me and some of my fondest childhood memories involve coming to this track with my family," Hornish said. "To win here in the (NASCAR) Nationwide Series would be amazing in ways that (are) difficult to articulate. … And I am grateful that I have that opportunity."
In addition to battling for the victory and protecting his series lead, there’s something else he’ll be competing for in Saturday’s race — the fourth and final $100,000 bonus in Nationwide’s Dash 4 Cash. Regardless of whether Hornish wins or not, the driver who places highest between him, Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers will win the bonus.
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Dillon holds off Larson, Newman in first national series dirt event since 1970
Related: Results | Photos from Day 2 | Full Eldora coverage
ROSSBURG, Ohio — Austin Dillon returned to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series the same night NASCAR returned to dirt.
Racing in the series for the first time since winning the 2011 championship, Dillon pulled away during a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win Wednesday night’s CarCash Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway, the first dirt-track race in any of NASCAR’s top three series since Richard Petty triumphed at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 30, 1970.
But the real winners were those who took the leap of faith to stage a mid-week race on dirt, those who came to rural Ohio to see it and those who consumed it through broadcast media.
"It feels amazing," said Dillon, who started 19th and quickly worked his way forward. "Going into this week, I was just really focused on doing whatever it took to make sure we had a good show for the fans and NASCAR so we could come back again…
"I think it was a success. It was such a great show… This is real racing right here, and that’s all I’ve got to say."
Before an enthusiastic packed house at the half-mile dirt track owned by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, Dillon held off Kyle Larson to claim his fifth NCWTS win. Ryan Newman ran third behind Dillon and Larson, followed by Joey Coulter and Brendan Gaughan.
Adroitly using his dirt-track experience to work his way through traffic, Larson charged from his 13th-place starting position to the lead during the first 60-lap segment of the race. On Lap 39, Larson passed Timothy Peters for the top spot and pulled away to a lead of more than 3 seconds.
On Lap 54, NASCAR called a caution after debris from Scott Bloomquist’s Toyota landed in the racing groove, and that yellow carried over through the end of the first segment.
Larson led the field to green to start the second segment of 50 laps, but on Lap 89 Austin Dillon grabbed the top spot in heavy traffic. The segment ended with Larson in hot pursuit of Dillon but unable to complete the pass.
To Larson, Dillon’s pass in traffic on Lap 89, and a caution a lap later — moments after Larson had regained the top spot — were decisive. Dillon kept the lead for a restart on Lap 97 because Dillon had been in front at the last scoring loop before the yellow.
"I was getting through traffic really good, and I spent a few laps behind that truck — I think it was the 77 (German Quiroga)," Larson said. "I was just getting a little bit impatient, and I got into his left rear with my right front. It kind of jerked the wheel right out of my hand and got me all out of shape.
"Austin was able to scoot by. I got back by right as the yellow came out, and that’s what kind of killed the race for us."
After pit stops, Dillon and Larson took the green side by side to commence the final 40 laps.
Though a series of five heat races determined the starting order for the main event, Ken Schrader, 58, earned the distinction as the Keystone Light Pole winner during time trials that preceded the heats. Benefiting from an early draw, Schrader covered the half-mile distance in 19.709 seconds (91.329 mph) to become the oldest pole winner in any of NASCAR’s top three touring series.
That distinction had belonged to Dick Trickle, who in 1999 won a NASCAR Nationwide Series pole at Dover at age 57.
Schrader won the first heat race from the pole, holding off fast-closing J.R. Heffner, to lock himself into the top starting position for the 150-lap main event. The NASCAR veteran clearly was excited about his effort after the first heat race.
"There’s been more hype for this race — I’m thinking back — since the inaugural Brickyard 400 (in 1994)," Schrader said.
Schrader edged dirt-track ace Jared Landers (90.891 mph) for the top spot in time trials. Landers, who was driving a NASCAR Camping World Truck for the first time, is the current Eldora track record holder in Dirt Late Models, having turned a lap in 14.922 seconds in that classification.
Most emblematic of the occasion, however, wasn’t Schrader starting up front. It was 61-year-old Norm Benning taking the green from the back of the field — and the fight he put up for the privilege of doing so.
Slamming and banging with Clay Greenfield in the final three laps of the last-chance heat, Benning refused to give up the fifth and final transfer spot into the main event. Drivers who already were locked into the race stood and cheered as Benning and Greenfield pounded each other through the final corner, with Benning prevailing.
Afterwards, crew members and fellow drivers alike congratulated the veteran racer. Yes, Benning had just finished fifth in a last-chance qualifier, but the way he did it captured perfectly the mood at NASCAR’s first national series dirt-track race in 43 years.
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Patrick has a history of stepping up on the big stage and Indianapolis is no exception
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Danica Patrick’s girl-next-door smile captures your attention sitting high atop the front page of Thursday’s Indianapolis Star newspaper, a larger photo of her dominates the front of the sport page too.
With Patrick set to debut in NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) on Sunday, the newspaper story takes the Sprint Cup Series rookie’s critics to task. A columnist asks why Patrick’s first year in the Cup season should be judged more harshly than any of her male counterparts, who have fared similarly.
You see, for many years now, Indy has been Patrick’s town.
It’s where in 2004, the petite, wide-eyed, then-22-year old first met the national racing media. It wasn’t the formal press conference with spotlights and 50 photographers her presence commands nowadays, but a low-key nonchalant introduction in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway media center by Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, who promised great things of the young Patrick and announced his intention to field a car for her in the next year’s Indy 500.
That afternoon, most reporters only interrupted their writing to steal casual glances, few left their seats to ask questions or shake Patrick’s hand figuring her to be a little more than a pretty face or marketing ploy. Fans didn’t even know who she was walking through Gasoline Alley or down pit road.
But Patrick’s Indy 500 debut the following May became one of the most historic days in auto racing when she became the first woman to lead the 500, contended for the win in the closing laps and finished what was then a best-ever fourth place.
The showing on one of racing’s greatest stages immediately launched “Danica” into the one-name realm reserved for the most famous athletes like Tiger and Shaq. Those same reporters, who were reticent before, now clamor for interviews. As Indianapolis fans first learned; the bigger the stage, the greater Patrick seems to perform.
NASCAR fans quickly figured that out as well when Patrick won the pole position for stock car racing’s Super Bowl, February’s season-opening Daytona 500 and then ran up front all day finishing eighth — the best ever for a woman in that race.
“I feel like when there’s a lot on the line, a lot of people paying attention, a lot of interest in how I’m going to do, it seems to pull out the right emotion in me and produce a better result,’’ Patrick said, contemplating the phenomena.
“It doesn’t mean it will happen every time, but it does seem to happen. I can’t explain it, I can only be grateful for it.’’
As Patrick returns to Indianapolis this week to compete in the Brickyard 400 (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN) for the first time, the Cup rookie will have a huge and noticeable local fan base. Partly because she’s a Midwesterner (she grew up in Illinois) and her family lives in Indy now and partly because the fans living in The Speedway’s massive shadow are typically sophisticated and knowledgeable about the sport.
She won them over early and often, not because she was a racing anomaly but because she performed. It’s an irony not lost on Patrick.
“That’s part of what makes me happy being there,’’ Patrick said. “People are excited to see me and root for me to do well. And it puts you in a better mood.
“I always just feel like there’s a lot of hope when I come here. I don’t feel the expectation levels lead to something that I have to do, or that there’s some consequence if I don’t, or there will be some negative result if I don’t. I always just feel there’s a lot of hope from people that want to see me do well. I want to deliver on that hope if I can.’’
And it’s helped make Patrick philosophic about the scrutiny she knows is inevitable.
“I think that more than anything you just learn how to deal with it, you learn how to interpret it,’’ she said. “I don’t think you ever get completely used to it, you just learn how to cope with it.
“Everyone wants approval. In general, we want people to think well of us. So I think being in a position where there are plenty of opinions of disapproval, you just learn how to deal with that.’’
Success is one way. And when it comes to one of the most iconic venues in racing, Patrick is usually optimistic for her chances.
Ask any NASCAR, Formula One or IndyCar driver and they’ll tell you, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the toughest circuits in the world. Each corner of the 2.5-mile speedway is different and with 200,000 fans crowding grandstands on the inside and outside of the track, it feels smaller than it is while negotiating laps at nearly 200 mph.
For Patrick, it’s been a showcase. She has only one finish outside the top-10 in seven Indy 500 starts and her third place in 2009 is a historic mark for women.
Last year in her only stock car start here, she crashed out of the NASCAR Nationwide Series event early and never got a legitimate opportunity to race.
“But I feel comfortable there,’’ Patrick said, pausing to pick her words. “I feel like I know the surface, the circuit. I enjoy going there and I think sometimes one of the most beneficial things on a weekend is to just be having a good attitude and being happy. And I’m always happy there.
“It’s a special track. It’s always going to be a favorite of mine. I don’t think anything can take away from that no matter what happens.
“When I started racing I was picturing winning the Indy 500,’’ Patrick said. “I always had this feeling I would win at Indy, but I never said it would be the Indy 500, so once I got in a stock car, I thought, maybe I had the car wrong.’’
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Driver who previously portrayed Junior earns GRAND-AM pole in car owned by MLB pitcher CJ Wilson
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — NASCAR driver Chad McCumbee won the pole for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner (ST) class Thursday afternoon kicking off racing activities for Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard.
It was a fitting showing for McCumbee — who played Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the ESPN television movie “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story” — because it comes during a companion race weekend between Grand-Am and NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And it comes on the same day his team owner, CJ Wilson, will be the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
“I’m humbled to put Mazda on the front row,’’ said McCumbee, who will start 21st overall in the field. “Hopefully we can finish one off. Our teammates have gotten a couple wins.”
McCumbee, who is still looking for his first win of the season, also won the pole at the Austin, Texas Circuit of the Americas in March in his No. 3 Mazda MX-5.
Racing on the historic Indianapolis track was something the 28-year old had dreamed of, however in his mind, he would have been turning left in a stock car not driving the other direction through the track’s 2.543-mile infield course.
“As a racer, Indianapolis and Daytona, that’s it,’’ McCumbee said. “As a stock car racer I thought I’d be going counterclockwise around this place. But to take the green flag at this place is a true blessing. I always thought I’d be going the other way, but it’s still Indy.
“Just the aura, the town and what it means to the sport. If you’re a true lover of the sport, you look at Indy as racing. This is motorsports.’’
Jade Buford, of Houston, will start his GS-Class No. 55 Aston Martin on the pole for the race, which will begin at 2 p.m. Friday following NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series opening practices.
Taylor, Said set track records with DP, GT poles
Jordan Taylor captured his third consecutive TOTAL Pole Award pole in Thursday’s qualifying for the Brickyard Grand Prix (Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET). Taylor ran his track-record lap of 1:22.251 (110.909 mph) to unseat Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello, making his DP debut for Doran Racing.
The session was red-flagged when John Pew went off course and was stuck in a gravel trap in Turn 8. Qualifying resumed with seven minutes remaining. Memo Rojas took second at the checkered flag with a lap of 1:22.375 (110.742 mph) in the No. 01 Telcel/Telmex BMW/Riley.
Boris Said captured his first pole of the season in GT qualifying, breaking the track record with a lap of 1:28.374 (103.225 mph) in the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette. Robin Liddell was second, looking to give Stevenson Motorsports its fourth pole of the season in the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro, 1:28.917.
In GX, Tom Long was quickest in the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/SpeedSource Mazda 6, 1:33.156 (97.926 mph).
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Eldora experience was positive for Sprint Cup driver for number for reasons
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ROSSBURG, Ohio — Ryan Newman leaned heavily on his dirt-track experience to contend for a historic victory Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway. Although he came up two positions shy on the final rundown, his joy of being part of NASCAR’s landmark return to dirt left him yearning for more experience kicking up dust.
It also gave him an idea, delivered in classic deadpan.
"I heard that they were hauling dirt into Daytona right now," Newman said, "… that part of their $400 million renovation project was dirt at Daytona."
Newman clanged fenders with teammate-for-a-day Kyle Larson over the final stretch to finish third in the inaugural CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s The Profit for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, leaving the race thankful for the opportunity and pleased with his effort in NASCAR’s first national series race on dirt since 1970.
"It’s awesome. It’s fun. It’s pretty simple," Newman said. "We didn’t need pit crews tonight, so there’s a lot of simplicity to it. And I’m not saying that that makes it great; I think it’s a matter of asking the fans. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely."
Newman approached Turner Scott Motorsports co-owner Steve Turner shortly after the race on the half-mile dirt track was announced on the truck series’ schedule. The deal was struck; Wednesday night, Newman made the most of it.
Newman started 10th and had worked his way into the top five near the halfway point of the first 60-lap segment, quickly establishing his truck — along with teammate Larson’s and eventual race winner Austin Dillon’s — as one of the strongest in the 30-truck field. He stayed in the front-running group the rest of the night, getting as high as second place but never leading a lap in the 150-lap race.
In part, the law of averages on even or odd running positions conspired against Newman. Running second or having odd-numbered starting spot meant starting on the less-advantageous inside line on restarts. Enjoying the leader’s privilege of lane choice or starting fourth, sixth, and so forth, meant restarting the race on the preferred outside groove.
"I was trying to be methodical about it, but whenever we got a caution it mixed everything up on restarts," Newman said. "If you were fourth, you were typically second by the end of the first lap. That meant you were back on the inside for the next restart, so restart position was pretty important."
Over the home stretch, Newman leaned not only on his experience but literally on his teammate’s side panels, battling the brilliant Larson hard in the high groove. Out of brakes and out of laps, Newman was able to smile and trade quips with Larson, six days shy of his 21st birthday and 14 years shy of Newman.
"It was fun out there, no doubt," Newman said. "I asked Kyle after the race for his mailing address; I wanted to mail him the left side of my truck because he used it up. It was really fun and we raced hard. He used me up but he had the truck to use me up."
Newman’s exuberance after the return to his roots begged the question: Why not more dirt-track racing — Daytona aside — in NASCAR’s future? Newman rattled off a list of other venerable dirt facilities in the Midwest that would certainly fit the bill.
"This was a great show, at least from our perspective as drivers, to do something off the charts different and I think great at the same time," Newman said. "There’s a first for everything. I think it’s great and something awesome for our sport. I think our fans got to see something different and I think our sport really needed something different.
"From a driver’s perspective, I didn’t come here as a Cup driver, I didn’t come here as a NASCAR driver, I came here as a driver who had an opportunity to win the first dirt race in the truck series and the first dirt race in a long time in NASCAR. I think it’s a monumental day. I mean, Austin Dillon has something he’s going to remember the rest of his life. So it’s something special and it’s over tonight, but hopefully it happens again."
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Driver was dominant on familiar substance — dirt
Related: Results | Points standings | Photo gallery | Complete coverage
ROSSBURG, Ohio — Did impatience get the best of Kyle Larson? It certainly turned a potential runaway into a hard-fought battle just to finish second at Eldora Speedway.
Wednesday night’s Mudsummer Classic was the first-ever dirt race for NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, and the first for a NASCAR national series in more than 40 years.
And Larson appeared ready to turn the historic event into a one-man show after deftly driving from his 13th-place starting position and into the lead in a span of less than 40 laps.
But a miscue on Lap 88 of the 150-lap race when Larson made contact with the slower entry of German Quiroga provided Austin Dillon with the opening he needed. And the Richard Childress Racing driver proved more than adequate on dirt himself, maintaining the lead through subsequent restarts and driving away to collect the win.
“I was getting through traffic really good,” said Larson, who was driving for Turner Scott Motorsports. “We spent a few laps around that truck, I think it was the 77 (of Quiroga) maybe, and I was getting just a little bit impatient. Kind of got into his right rear … it jerked the wheel out of my hand, got me out of shape and Austin was able to scoot by.”
Larson, a 20-year-old with extensive open-wheel experience, had been fast throughout both days of the Classic. A third-place finish in his qualifying heat landed him just outside the top 10 on the starting grid. He was inside the top 10 in less than 10 laps and inside the top five shortly thereafter.
“A lot of people were trying slide jobs early,” Larson said, “and I would sneak around them when they weren’t clear. Doing really good through traffic early and I saw Austin get into second, (I) got into the corner and just overdrove one corner and got into the back of a lapper. Got out of shape and (Dillon) was able to sneak by.”
Larson did have his chances late in the race, thanks to a pair of cautions — including one that pushed the race into a green-white-checkered finish and extended the race three laps past its scheduled distance.
Dillon had the preferred outside starting spot, and a fast truck. Larson was pinned down low, and eventually found himself battling with teammate Ryan Newman for the No. 2 spot.
“I had to restart on the bottom every time and I kept spinning my shifts … giving up a ton of track position at the end,” he said. “Then I just decided to (restart shifting) from third to fourth, try to keep my wheel spin down and make it easier on myself. It was a little bit better.
“I had to use up Ryan a quite a bit the last few restarts. But I felt like we had the fastest truck and had a shot at the win so I was just going for it.
“Came up a little short.”
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